CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - On Sunday the NEISDA meet drew to a close with the Brandeis women standing on the podium in third place to end their season. The finish is the highest at this meet since at least 2012-2013 for the Judges female swimming and diving team.
Solid swims across the board mark the Judges performance at the meet. In the freestyle races, first-year Lauren Howard (Abington, Mass./ Cardinal Spellman) placed sixth in the 50 yard (25.02 seconds), and fifth in the 100 (54.14 seconds). Sophomore Uajda Musaku (Winthrop, Mass./ Winthrop) finished just behind her teammate Howard in the 50 yard with a time of 25.17 seconds. Similarly, fellow sophomore Audrey Kim (Livingston, N.J./ Livingston) placed behind Howard in the 100-yard race, finishing sixth place with a time of 54.33 seconds. Senior Kylie Herman (Weston, Fla./ Cypress Bay) touched the wall in 1:57.62 during the 200-yard race, good enough for fifth place. For the distance races, first-year Abbie Etzweiler (Malvern, Pa./ Great Valley) had good performances across the board. In the 500, Etzweiler finished in seventh place with a time of 5:26.77, and in the 1000 yard race placed fourth (11:13.00).
In the backstroke, first-year Claire Xu (East Hanover, N.J./ Newark Academy) continued her dominance, this time by winning both the 50 (26.38 seconds) and 100 yard (58.03 seconds) races, setting a school record in both events, while also setting a new meet record in the 50. First-year Olivia Stebbins (Willington, Conn./ Edwin O. Smith) and sophomore Emily McGovern (Chatham, N.J./ Chatham) combined to place in each breaststroke event. In the 50, Stebbins placed fourth with a time of 31.51 seconds, while McGovern finished in fifth at 31.70. The 100 only had Stebbins place, but she finished in fourth at a time of 1:09.24. The 200 saw two Judges, as Stebbins again finished in fourth (2:29.23), while McGovern came in sixth at 2:31.66. Kim continued her meet with a fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:00.57), while first-year Gazelle Umbay (North Hils, Calif./ Sierra Canyon) came in seventh (1:01.78). Herman and Umbay combined to take two podium spots in the 200 butterfly, with Herman placing second (2:12.18), and Umbay in at third (2:13.45). Sophomore Annie Huang (Chapel Hill, N.C./ East Chapel Hill) swam well in the 100 individual medley, placing fourth at a time of 1:03.01. In addition to her backstroke victories, Xu would also take fourth place in the 200 IM (2:11.48).
The 200 free relay team of Kim, Musaku, Xu, and Howard won the B-final at a time of 1:39.02. Xu, Herman, Howard, and Kim was the squad for the 400 free relay which resulted in a fourth-place finish (3:38.36). The distance 800 free relay comprised of Etzweiler, Umbay, first-year Natalie Westrick (Lincoln, R.I./ Lincoln) and Herman touched the wall at a time of 8:10.73, good for fifth place. One of the highlights of the entire meet was the 200 medley relay, as Xu, Stebbins, Kim, and Howard came together to win the race and set a new school record with a time of 1:48.31. The 400 medley relay was the same team as the 200, but they could not duplicate their success, winning the B-final at a time of 4:03.50.
Ending the meet with 1115.5 points, the Judges just beat out Keene College for third and was not far behind Roger Williams for second place. Overall, Simmons University cruised to the women's team title, compiling 1410.5 points during the meet.